Blue Jays claim catcher Wilson off waivers

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays added to their organizational depth on Monday afternoon by claiming catcher Bobby Wilson off waivers from the Angels.

The 29-year-old is a career .208 hitter with a .272 on-base percentage in parts of five big league seasons. Last year, he appeared in 75 games for the Halos while posting three homers and 13 RBIs.

"They called and said welcome to the family and that was pretty much it, and just asked where I was right now, and told them I'm close to the Spring Training site," Wilson said shortly after being informed of the news.

"I can't give the full details of what they say just because that's an in-house thing between me and them, it was just 'welcome to the family' and kind of 'get ready.'"

Wilson's potential role with the Blue Jays remains somewhat up in the air. Catchers J.P. Arencibia and Jeff Mathis are firmly entrenched at the big league level, while top prospect Travis d'Arnaud is currently waiting in the wings.

The acquisition of Wilson could provide Toronto with additional flexibility in case the club opts to make a trade this offseason. Catching is a position of depth and could be used to fill holes on the mound or in left field. Wilson is out of options on his contract and was considered a non-tender candidate by the Angels until Monday.

"I'm excited," Wilson said. "Sometimes I felt like with the Angels that they kind of took my services for granted. I'm not saying that they did, but sometimes you get that feeling like there's the next best thing behind you or there's that next best thing that's going to be better than you. But I know I can still play, and I know I'm pretty good, and I'm just excited for the new opportunity."

This marks the second consecutive year that Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos made a move for an Angels catcher. Last offseason, Anthopoulos acquired Mathis -- who also was a non-tender candidate at the time -- for left-hander Brad Mills.

In order to clear space on the 40-man roster for Wilson, right-hander Chad Beck was designated for assignment. Beck appeared in 14 games for the Blue Jays in 2012 and posted a 6.32 ERA with nine strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings.